Pune Hooch Tragedy: CID Arrests Father-Son Duo Accused of Supplying Methanol
Pune, 4th June 2026: The Maharashtra Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is investigating the alleged illicit liquor death case of Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad, has arrested a father-son duo accused of supplying methanol that was allegedly used to manufacture the spurious liquor linked to 20 deaths.
The accused, identified as Arun Jagdamb Choubey (59) and his son Abhishek Choubey (34), run a chemical trading firm in Bhiwandi. CID officials said evidence gathered during the probe indicated that methanol supplied by the duo reached the main accused in the case, who allegedly mixed it with illicit liquor before distributing it across Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad.
The CID has now confirmed that all 20 deaths — 16 in the Phugewadi-Dapodi area of Pimpri Chinchwad and four in Hadapsar — were caused by consumption of methanol-laced liquor.
Investigators have identified Yogesh Ramchandra Vhankade, alias Sikandar Rathod, as a key link in the supply chain. According to the probe, Vhankade procured bootleg liquor from Radheshyam Prajapati in Uruli Kanchan and allegedly mixed methanol into it before supplying it to various locations.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the CID said the Choubeys were produced before a court in Pimpri Chinchwad and remanded to four days of police custody. Their arrest has taken the number of accused in CID custody to eight.
Officials said the duo operated Rex International in Bhiwandi and allegedly supplied methanol to Vhankade through a business-to-business online marketplace platform. They were earlier arrested by Navi Mumbai Police in a separate case registered by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which had seized large quantities of methanol during a raid on the company’s premises. The CID subsequently secured their custody after establishing their alleged role in the hooch tragedy investigation.
